Expanding the walls of our classroom. This is an interactive learning ecology for students and parents in my Applied Math 40S class. This ongoing dialogue is as rich as YOU make it. Visit often and post your comments freely.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

March 14, 2007

Happy Pi Day to everyone. To start things off, here some facts about Pi Day.

March 14, written as 3-14 or 3/14 in the United Statesdate format, represents the common three-digit approximation for the number π: 3.14. Pi Day is often celebrated at 1:59 p.m. in recognition of the six-digit approximation: 3.14159. Some, using a 24-hour clock, celebrate it at 1:59 a.m. or 3:09 p.m. (15:09) instead.Pies for a celebration at the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyPi Day is celebrated in a variety of ways. Parties or other observances may be held by mathematics departments in educational institutions. Harvard's Math department, for instance, has a pi recitation contest as well as a pi eating contest. Mathematics or science clubs might gather to consider the role that the number π has played in their lives and to imagine the world without π. During such an event, pi celebrants may approximate π, devise alternative values for π, eat pie, play piñata, drink Piña Colada, eat pizza, listen to the song "Pi" by Kate Bush, watch Pi, or recite Pi. The song 867-5309/Jenny is sometimes sung, replacing the digits with the first several digits of pi. The shape of the pie is sometimes square, due to the pronunciation of the equation for the surface area bounded by a circle = πr2, i.e., "pie are squared."

It's unclear when Pi Day was first celebrated. The Exploratorium began an annual public celebration of Pi Day in 1987, with staff and public marching around one of its circular spaces, and then consuming fruit pies; the museum has since added pizza pies to its Pi Day menu.Enthusiasts also note that the day happens to be Albert Einstein's birthday, among other famous birthdays on this day. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, known for its sometimes unconventional and quirky take on mathematics, often mails out its acceptance letters to be delivered to prospective students on Pi Day.

Wikipedia.

We started our morning class by celebrating Pi Day. I felt bad on eating all those pies that I ate because I did not bring any. Anyways, besides eating lots of pies and drinking milk/chocolate milk, Mr. K also told us about the rubric for the "Developing Expert Voices" and "FlickR" assignments.